Event Review: Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle Event 2015 – and why you need to book now for next year

17th September 15

My Electric Avenue, Sigmatex and Sensor City were part of the NAA stand at the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle 2015 event which took place at Millbrook Proving Ground over 9 & 10 September 2015 – find out about what these companies thought about the event below, and find out why you need to book now for the 2016 event…

Cenex LCV, the UK’s leading low carbon vehicle event for the automotive industry, includes a conference, an exhibition, and a ride and drive. One of the highlights of the 2015 event was driving a car that had been developed by a small engineering consultancy that is now providing a base for an all-electric Range Rover Evoque technology demonstrator.

The company that has developed the car is Delta Motorsport, and the vehicle is the E4 Coupe. It started off a few years ago as a rear-wheel drive all-electric sports car, but now the latest incarnation has four-wheel drive. But that’s not all. When you drive the car, you can change it from being four-wheel drive to front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive to left-wheel drive to right-wheel drive – all at the touch of a button, thanks to the electric drivetrain.

For anyone that is intrigued by the handling variations that result from having different wheels driven, this is a revelation. However, there’s a bigger significance about this car. Delta Motorsport, a member of the Niche Vehicle Network, is part of the Evoque_e Innovate UK project, which is a funded collaborative project between 12 companies. The outcome has been three low emission Land Rover demonstrators: an all-electric Evoque, a plug-in hybrid Range Rover Sport, and a mild hybrid Evoque.

Innovate UK and other funding is ongoing (see news items below); attendance at the LCV event opens the door for companies to meet new customers as well as potential collaborators in funded projects. Here’s the feedback from the companies exhibiting with the NAA at LCV this year:

“EA Technology’s My Electric Avenue project reaped numerous and tangible benefits from its presence on the North West Automotive stand and Dinner at the Cenex LCV2015 exhibition this week. As a direct result of the support of the NAA, My Electric Avenue has disseminated its trial results to a wide range of stakeholders, and raised awareness and buy-in to the critical link between the automotive and utility sectors. What’s more, the event resulted in 50 exciting leads, and now back in the office, we are already planning two projects stemming from our networking activity at LCV2015. We look forward to being there next year, again thanks to the NAA!”

Gill Nowell, Senior Consultant – Network Management, EA Technology

“Sigmatex has exhibited at the LCV event with the Northwest Auto Alliance for two consecutive years now. For Sigmatex this was a great opportunity to attend the show and to use the extremely impressive knowledge of Carol on the stand, basically what and who Carol does not know within the industry is probably not worth knowing. Sharing the NAA stand allows you to freely leave the stand when needed for meetings and networking with the peace of mind that the stand is manned by other NAA companies and members who are always very helpful.”

Christine Barr, Commercial Team Leader, Sigmatex UK

“Being able to have a presence within the Northwest Automotive Alliance stand at CENEX 2015 allowed a project like Sensor City to raise its profile at a national event that wouldn’t have been accessible otherwise. We received a good level of interest in our project and would certainly consider coming back next year.”

Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership Low Carbon Champions Awards

The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) Low Carbon Champions Awards took place on the middle evening of the LCV event. Optare received the ‘Grand Prix’ award for Outstanding Achievement in Low Carbon Transport (winner of winners) in a celebration hosted by TV personality Robert Llewellyn. Mitsubishi took the award in the prestigious Low Carbon Car/Van Manufacturer of the Year category.

The judges said that Mitsubishi’s Outlander – which helped the company scoop the car manufacturer award – has been a game-changer, bringing plug-in hybrid technology to a 4×4 SUV, at a competitive price. The model has achieved impressive sales, especially in the company car market, where carbon-based taxation has helped to boost sales of lower carbon vehicles.

Optare and Scania were joint winners of the Low Carbon Heavy Duty Vehicle Manufacturer of the Year Award. The judges decided to award both companies as their entries covered activities in different market sectors (Optare for buses and Scania for trucks and delivery vehicles).

Optare was the recipient of the Grand Prix Award. The judges said that this recognition was because Optare is the UK market leader in electric buses and has taken significant commercial risk in achieving this position. Optare’s buses have made an important contribution to improving air quality in UK towns and cities as well as reducing the well-to-wheel carbon footprint by over 50% in comparison with equivalent diesels.